Abstract
Using expanded cork dust as a cheaper substitute of fumed silica, the expanded cork/fumed silica composites with hierarchical porous structure were designed and constructed as an alternative lower cost material for vacuum insulation panel (VIP) core. A novel strategy compromised of microwave pretreatment and vacuum impregnation method is developed for cork restructuring and recombination. The morphology, microstructure and thermo-physical properties of expanded cork/fumed silica composites were thoroughly investigated. It is found that the microwave pretreatment is a rapid and effective method to restructure cork, and then fumed silica can be introduced into the cork pores efficiently by the vacuum impregnation method, resulting in a hierarchical microstructure of cork micro-pores and nano-porous fumed silica micelle. Thanks to this unique hierarchical porous structure, the hybrid expanded cork-fumed silica materials show an excellent thermal insulation property (as low as 6.3 mW/m·K at pressure < 1 mbar). The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is an efficient means to construct a hierarchical porous expanded cork/fumed silica hybrid network system, and the as-prepared composites could have a potential application for VIPs core materials due its cost-effective and good thermal insulation performance.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 215-221 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Composites Part B: Engineering |
Volume | 127 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Oct 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The research is supported by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program managed by REA-Research Executive Agency [FP7-SME-2013], under the GA No. 606037.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ceramics and Composites
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering